Sophia gripped onto the wooden spoon in her fist, digging it into the batter while hugging the bowl.

“This is a pretty nice gesture,” Roman said, hovered over a mug of coffee.

Sophia grinned. “I want him to know I appreciate him for supporting my decision. I know it wasn’t easy for him.”

“So, do you feel ready for this?” Roman asked before taking another sip.

“Yes,” she assured. “I’m more than ready. Listening to everyone’s speeches, not being able to combat or support what they said, it’s been torture. I’m glad I finally get to say what I’d like to say. In person.”

“So, uh…” Roman glanced over his shoulder before turning back to her. “You want to talk about what’s going on with you and Blayze? One minute you’re cozied up together and the next you’re sitting on opposite ends of the couch.”

“That’s true.” Sophia used two spoons to plop the batter onto a baking sheet, the aroma of spiced pumpkin bringing a smile to her face. She’d planned to make the cookies as soon as he’d mentioned them, but now they were more of a peace offering after her outburst.

She glanced toward the hallway. Blayze would be out of the shower soon. “I really like him,” she whispered. “And he says he feels the same way…”

“Okay,” Roman encouraged.

Sophia sighed, not wanting to admit it was Blayze who’d set the boundaries. “We decided that testing it now, under these conditions, was a bad idea.”

“We?” he said, matching the quiet tone of her voice.

Sophia slid the pan into the preheated oven and folded her arms. “He did. Okay? And I agreed… after a while. Because I didn’t have a choice.” A chuckle fell from her lips as Roman grinned.

“Well,” he said, smile wider than his mug. “You could do a whole lot worse.” Spoken just like her father.

She spun back around to set the timer. The cookies would barely have time to cool before they had to leave. Roman’s suitcase waited beside the garage door; while Sophia and Blayze planned to come back to the cabin after tonight’s event, Roman would return home for a night or two. By the end of the week, they’d find out if the package cycle would continue with a fifth arrival and make plans accordingly.

With thoughts of weaving back through the narrow roads surrounded by towering redwoods, a certain yearning came back to Sophia as she recalled being in the back of the SUV with Blayze, fingers entwined while she lay in his arms, dreams of his kiss in her mind despite the threat that sent them fleeing.

There was so much going through her mind, she could barely keep a strain of thought. Love was a powerful thing, she supposed. Enough to own her thoughts even amidst the chaos.

“Think I’ll go over my notes one more time,” she mumbled while heading back to the table.

With the chair pushed away behind her, she glanced down at her written—not typed—speech. At first, she’d dreaded the idea of using anything but printed notes. But after watching Blayze create his masterpieces with paper and pen, she’d enjoyed handwriting her speech. Underlining and circling for emphasis. Drawing a few images along the side to remind her of her purpose. A gavel for justice, a heart for her mother and a tie for her father. Last, she drew an American flag, letting it represent her country, and the man who was quietly earning pieces of her heart.

“Okay,” Roman said, spinning on his barstool, “I’m your audience. Let’s hear it.”

Sophia smiled at the man, grateful for his support. She imagined that she was not in her sweats with an apron tied around her waist. Her hair and makeup were done after all. Close enough. A quick glance at her notes, the pull of a deep breath, and she was ready.

“All right, “she said. “Here I go.”

* * *

Blayze kept his eyes shut as he leaned his back against the wall. Tucked just inside the hallway, he keyed in to the sound of Sophia’s voice. Those compelling words, that bleeding passion. Roman had once joked the woman should run for president. The man wasn’t kidding. She had an appreciation for the country that very few had apart from those who put their very lives on the line. Or the family members who lay in wait. Praying God’s protection over their loved one night and day.

He couldn’t remember admiring someone so much. Or caring for a woman this deeply. How it had happened so fast, he wasn’t sure. Suddenly, a memory floated to his mind. A conversation he’d had with his mother one morning. While Mom sipped on a mug of steaming orange tea, she’d asked about how things were going between Blayze and Emily.

“Good,” he’d assured. “Really good.”

Mom asked a second question then. “Do you love her?”

Blayze hadn’t known how to respond to that. “I might,” he finally decided. “I mean, I’ve never felt this way about anyone else.”

A teary grin came to Mom’s face. “My suggestion…” she said, fingers curled around her mug, “the moment you’re certain, tell her. She deserves to know.”

Blayze had taken his mother’s advice. And as distant as those feelings were now, he didn’t regret it. Life was full of learning experiences; and as painful as some may be, each struggle brought wisdom—not an easy thing to come by. But the recollection begged a new question. One Mom wasn’t here to ask: Was he in love with Sophia?

The answer was a resounding yes.

A rash of heat burst through his chest—a flare gun in full blast trapped in his ribcage. Yet, as Blayze pulled in a shallow breath, the heat spread up his throat and right to his face.

His head pulsed beneath the realization—he was in love with Sophia Vasco. Why did he have to discover the depths of his feelings for her then, with such a dangerous scenario ahead? Why not after the dust settled?

Maybe he was meant to tell her, that’s why.

If the acknowledgment of his love was like a flame, the challenge of telling her was a full-on explosion.

No. He rejected the idea at once, forcing his attention back to the list of details before him. They were heading back to the university today. The place he’d first heard and seen her speak. Even in recollection, the moment was a thing of beauty.

Sophia’s voice continued from the other room, traveling down the hall where Blayze stood. “… which is why I encourage you to get out to those polls and vote,” she said with a flourish. Roman started a round of applause, and Blayze pulled himself away from the wall to join him.

He formed an okay sign with his hand and brought it to his mouth. With his pointer finger and thumb pinned between his lips, he let out a long whistle.

Sophia grinned at him from across the room. A blue apron wrapped snuggly around her waist, a smudge of flour on her cheek, and a pair of pink, fluffy slippers on her feet. Dang, she was cute.

“I like the outfit choice,” he said as he moved toward the dining area.

She laughed. “Thanks. I didn’t want to come across too intimidating.”

“Too late,” he assured. She’d intimidated him since day one.

The oven timer rang out, causing Blayze to inhale the incredible aroma filling the cabin. He pondered for no more than a second and spun to Sophia as he recognized it.

She was shuffling around the island toward the oven. “I’ve got a surprise for you,” she purred. “You said it was one of your mother’s specialties, and I wanted to do something for you.” She slid a pan onto the granite countertop. A dozen plump, pumpkin cookies filled the pan, each dotted with dark chunks of chocolate. “I hope it’s close enough to your mother’s recipe.”

The sincerity he saw in her eyes made him want to pull her into his arms and assure her, between long, passionate kisses, that they’d be perfect. Blayze was pretty sure he wasn’t actually entertaining the idea, but the fact that Roman’s presence topped the list of reasons he couldn’t said a lot. “I’m sure they’ll be perfect.”

She caught her lip between her teeth, eyes pasted on him as she rounded the counter. She stood so close to him that her hands, which were folded before her, grazed his chest. “Good,” she said, then reached in and kissed him on the nose. “I’m going to grab a few outfits to choose from.” Her shoulder rubbed against him as she glided by.

Blayze stood very still as she walked away, musing that if Roman wasn’t in the room he’d have definitely pulled Sophia in to sample those lips. Perhaps the words he’d decided not to speak may have come out after all. The thought of saying them seemed almost natural to him in the moment.

“Boy, are you in trouble,” Roman said under his breath.

Blayze shook his head and spun to face the man. “You said it.”

“Today’s not going to be a walk in the park.” Roman moved around the counter and rinsed out his mug.

“As they say in the SEALs,” Blayze said, “the only easy day was yesterday.”

“I have all the faith in the world in you, vato,” Roman said. “I can say that with all my heart.”

Blayze gulped, sensing he wasn’t finished just yet.

“Still…” He squirted a drop of dish soap into the stopped sink basin and turned on the faucet. “I have a feeling that says we’ve got to watch her good today.”

Blayze gulped again, nodding in agreement while his insides screamed. “Mr. Vasco said that a few local news stations posted schedules of who they’d hear from today, and her name was nowhere to be found.”

“Good,” Roman said. “So, we get her to the university. She’ll be the second-to-last speaker of the program, and we’ll have her out of there before the final speaker’s through.”

As Roman dunked the batter bowl into the suds, Blayze snatched the dishtowel off the oven handle, contemplating the hours that lay ahead.

He’d go into the challenge like the ones that had come before: fingers crossed with a prayer in his heart. Blayze supposed he’d have to do the same when it came to telling Sophia how he felt for her. He’d kept her at bay during their time together, save a weak moment or two, but as his mother would say, a woman deserved to know when a man loved her. And whether he liked it or not, the time to tell her just might be now.